It's the fine line between what should remain private and what should remain public. If CK had made public that he was a p1$$head than he would have recieved support, in fact it would probably have worked in his favour as far as popularity goes.

Yes, I wish all politicians would 'open up' when they have a problem 'so we can all help tham and have a laugh at them'!! Could you imagine Prestcott? "I'm having a right time of it right now, I'm shagging my secretary".

Fair to say that Charles Kennedy half cut was twice as good as Menzies is now. I don't have a problem that he kept his alchoholism to himself, once he had announced that he was an alchoholic, there was no way that he was going to be allowed to stay in the job. He tried to carry it off, but didn't manage it.

Good luck to him I say, I hope he kicks the habit. He is clearly a talented (and politically honest) bloke, whether you like his politics or not.

This is another 'leaked' story , the purpose of which is to restrict Kennedy's return to the front benches. I won't guess who is responsible for the leak, but j'accuse the same parties responsible for the leak that led to the party leadership debacle.The knitting circle is on borrowed time, and this is another desperate effort to stop the Right of the party gaining ascendancy. I personally think CK sober, or even half-cut was more than a match for Blair at the despatch box. A sober CK ,or a leader with his intelligence and ability with a nice bright set of new fangs is something I believe the party needs.

By all accounts Winston Churchill spent much of the time p*ssed between 39 and 45. He seemed to do pretty well.

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Similar accounts for Yeltsin - and he had control of nuclear weapons!

I don't know where you're coming from Howler. Kennedy, like the rest of us should be entitled to a private life. If he chooses to spend it drinking, then thay is his concern. We need only be concerned if he is unable to perform his duties in a proper fashion. My understanding is that this was becoming the case and his party took action. End of story.

PB

Edited to add: If I had to face that number of Lib-Dems every day, I'd probably take up drinking too.

By all accounts Winston Churchill spent much of the time p*ssed between 39 and 45. He seemed to do pretty well.

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Churchill was certainly a drinker but I doubt he was p1ssed that often: he drank very dilute brandy and soda waters most of the time, maintaining a relatively low alcohol level. Asquith, on the other hand, was regularly totally sh1t-faced when leading the country during WW1 (another Liberal leader - is this part of a pattern? ).

PartTimePongo said:

This is another 'leaked' story , the purpose of which is to restrict Kennedy's return to the front benches. I won't guess who is responsible for the leak, but j'accuse the same parties responsible for the leak that led to the party leadership debacle.The knitting circle is on borrowed time, and this is another desperate effort to stop the Right of the party gaining ascendancy. I personally think CK sober, or even half-cut was more than a match for Blair at the despatch box. A sober CK ,or a leader with his intelligence and ability with a nice bright set of new fangs is something I believe the party needs.

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It's not really a leak, is it? This is from a book by a political journalist which is being serialised now (or about to be serialised). It's unfortunate timing for Kennedy, no doubt but I would suspect there's nothing too sinister about it.